Andreas Mikkelsen - future champion

Andreas Mikkelsen is signed by VW
Motorsport and happy with the outlook the next seasons, according to the
Norwegian. We had a talk to him prior to VW's presentation of the team
and VW Polo R WRC's livery for 2013, on Saturday 8th of December in
Monte Carlo (where else?). He had a thing or two to reveal. First: his
career until now.

As a multitalented boy, with talents both
in alpine skiing and motocross, his career in rallying started just
after he got his British license at the age of 17, winning Quinton
Stages Rally on his debut in a Ford Focus RS WRC '02. The first season
brought him no less than 4 more victories. He also started Wales Rally
GB, but retired on the last leg. 2008 was important, as he contested 8
rallies in WRC. He finished 6 of them and placing as high as 9-10-10 in
Ireland, Portugal and Norway, respectively. He is probably remembered by
most fans for this in Rally GB 2008 though:

In 2008, he became the youngest point
scorer in the history of WRC. Andreas finished Rally Sweden in fifth
place at the age of 18, handling a Ford Focus RS WRC '06. Entering 6
other events in WRC that year, brought another top ten with 8th place in
Spain. At the end of 2008, there were no more funding and he had to
start from scratch, in a Subaru Impreza STi cup car.

Andreas confides:I really matured starting from scratch in 2009. Taking it step by step and fighting my way back, only made me stronger.From there, the rest is history. Winning
the Golden Stage in Cyprus, before being picked up by Skoda UK ahead of
2011 and celebrating the overall win in IRC the last 2 seasons. At the
same time, VW discovered him and brought him in for most of 2012,
showing how much they believe in him. On par with or beating Sebastien
Ogier on many occasions this year and earning a third car in 2013 from
Rally Portugal, in VW Motorsport's return to the highest level with VW
Polo R WRC. With a lot of high's and low's, we asked what it has been like the last seasons:The cooperation with Skoda the last
two seasons has been just fantastic! The two titles won with the team is
my best memories so far in my career. They took me under their wings
two years ago and it has really been an experience for me, working with a
manufacturer such as Skoda. When I'm moving on to VW Motorsport, I feel
confident the cooperation will be good again. Looking back at this
season, we have been driving a lot, both in IRC and WRC. It has worked
out really well, winning the IRC and gathering a lot of experience in
WRC. So, in 2013 I will be back in WRC and I promise I will make the
most out of the opportunity given to me by VW!And we understand you have split
up with Ola Floene, a long-lasting relationship since your debut in
2006, care to elaborate the change of co-driver to Mikko Markkula?The change of co-driver developed through
the talks we had with VW. In 2013, I don't need to go for the top
results. I just have to show progression throughout the year and prove I
have what it takes to fight for victories in a few years. When VW wants
me to peak in 3-4 years, we all agreed the best was to find a younger
co-driver, who can sit with me for the rest of my career. That was how
we came up with Mikko.We brought up the fact that Norway is now one of the
nations with the best prospects in rally, and wondered if he had seen
someone up and coming in the domestic department:We have of course the likes of Steve
Rokland and Frank Tore Larsen, they have risen as obvious talents. The
challenge is the economy and the resources available, which always has
been a great obstacle in the sport. There are lots of drivers who has
got what it takes, but will unfortunately be stopped along the way to
reaching their targets because of shortage of money. Andreas also stated he will most probably
appear on rallies on home turf next year, and told us that he would
drive some events ahead of his debut in the Polo WRC, but it was too
early to tell what car he would drive. When it comes to inspirations and idols, he replied when asked: I've had a few role models and idols, both
in rally and on personal level. I've received a lot of help from Marcus
Gronholm, Henning and Petter Solberg. And what Sebastien Loeb has done
with the sport of rally the last decade, I admire him a lot for.We then asked humbly if he could
rank the best drivers in 2013 (and this was before Petter Solberg
announced his retirement from WRC)Ogier - Latvala - Hirvonen - Solberg - SordoTo be on the same level as these guys, I need more experience in WRC. And to close the interview, we
drew something hypothetically for him: Any car and we mean ANY CAR,
which would you chose to modify within the WRC regulations, with regards
to roll cage and engine enhancements etc?A small Smart-model! Tune engine to 300hp and changing the suspension and fitting roll cage, that would be really fun!So who dares taking Andreas' fantasy literally and build this little pocket-rocket?

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DISCLAIMER

Team Mikkelsen is a fan blog dedicated to the Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen IRC driver. We don't have financial interest. Just entertainment. All material published on this blog is properly credited. If any published material that is inappropriate let us know to remove it.